Tension retaining appliance for skeletal wires



y 1937 Q E. E.,LONGFELLOW 2,

TENSION RETAINING APPLIANCEv FOR SKELETAL WIRES Filed July 26, 1935 wINVENTOR.

BY I I b ATTORNEY.

Patented July 20, 1937 T OFFICE TENSION RETAENING APPLIANCE FOR SKELETALWIRES Earl E. Longfellow, Warsaw, llnd, assignor to Harry HerschelLeiter, Warsaw, Ind.

Application July 26, 1935, Serial No. 33,363

2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in tension retaining appliancesfor skeletal wires such as are used in surgical operations for applyingextension and fixation to'bone fragments as in the reduction andsubsequent treatment of fractures.

In the practice, which now has become more or less general, wires areapplied through the fragments of fractured bones and held in tension bymeans of bows of the Kirschner type, or such as is set forth in PatentNo. 1,949,969 issued to me March 5, 1934 for Skeletal tractor forsurgical treatment of fractures. Subsequent to the reduction of suchfeatures and the application of a plaster cast about the injured member,it is desirable to remove the encumbrance of the bows by which the wiresare initially held in tension, and it is also desirable to sustain thewires under tension thereafter.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide meansattachable to those portions of the wires that project from the sides ofthe plaster cast that is so constituted that tension may be readilyapplied to the wires in such manner as to be sustained after the bowsare removed. Other objects and advantages of the invention will appearin the following description.

An illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanyingdrawing, in which:

Fig. l is an end elevation of the invention applied to an injured limb,the latter being in crosssection;

Fig. 2 is a front view of one of the anchor plates of the device; and

Fig. 3 is a front View of another anchor plate and an adjustable memberassociated therewith.

The illustrative embodiment of the invention consists of two fixtures land 2. The fixture I consists of a curved plate 3 having an outwardlyprojecting central boss 6, there being a slot 5 that extends from acentral opening 6 through the boss and which extends through the marginof the plate so as to permit reception of a skeletal wire '1transversely through its plate for lodgment in the central opening 6.The boss 4 has also a set-screw 8 by which said wire is clamped in theboss.

The fixture E has a curved plate 9 provided with a slot II] that extendsthrough its outer margin to the center of the plate, and said plate hassecured thereto threaded projecting studs l i that are parallel withrespect to each other. Upon each of said studs is disposed in threadedrelation therewith a flanged sleeve nut I2, and a bar I3 having slottedends is operatively associated with said nuts so that as the nuts areturned the bar is adjustably moved toward or away from the plate 9. Thebar I3 has an outwardly extending boss It provided with a centralopening l5, and a slot it extends from said opening through the boss andadjacent edge of said bar, which slot it is alined with the slot ii] inthe plate 9 when the bar is positioned on the nuts 52. The slots 16 andill permit reception of the skeletal wire I transversely through theplate Q, bar 53 and boss it into the central opening I5. The boss M hasalso a set-screw ll by which the wire I! is clamped in the boss. By thisarrangement relative rotary movement with respect to the skeletal wirel, bar 53 and plate 9, is prevented. This feature is of advantage duringaxial adjustment of the bar 53 with respect to the plate 9, as therebydetrimental twisting of the skeletal wire in the injured member isforestalled.

Operation In utilizing the invention a skeletal wire I is initiallyapplied to an injured limb I8 so as to pass through a fragment I9 of thefractured bone and so that the ends of the wire extend beyond theopposite sides of the limb. The ends of the wire are then secured inclamps 28 and 2| that are disposed on the ends of a bow 22. The clamp 2ipreferably is mounted upon a swinging bracket 23 that is adjustablymoved outwardly'by means of a screw 25 so that the wire is placed undermore or less tension to prevent fiexure thereof.

Surrounding the injured limb I8, after the fracture has been reduced, isformed a cast 25 of plaster or other suitable encasing material,following which the fixtures I and 2 are placed astride of the wire lbetween the clamps 20 and 2E on the bow and against the correspondingsides of the cast and respectively on the opposite sides thereof so thatthe plates 3 and 9 bear against the exterior surface of the cast. Thescrew 8 in the boss 4 and the screw H in the boss I4 are then tightenedagainst the wire i so as to prevent axial movement of the wire relativeto the fixture I and bar I3. The thumbnuts I2 are then turned so thatthe desired tension is applied to the wire I, after which the clamps 2t!and 2| are loosened and the bow 22 is removed. Those portions of thewire I that project beyond the bosses 4 and I4 are then severed by meansof any suitable instrument (not shown). In this manner the tension ofthe wire is sustained in place during convalescence while the patient isrelieved of the encumbrance of the bow.

I claim:-

1. A surgical appliance for holding a skeletal Wire under tension whilepositioned in an injured limb encased in a plaster cast, said applianceconsisting of two fixtures, one of said fixtures having a plate providedwith a boss and a' slot extending into the boss and through an adjacentpart of said plate to permit reception of said wire into said boss, theother fixture consisting of a slotted plate provided with outwardlyprojecting parallel threaded studs having thereon corresponding flangedsleeve nuts and a bar operatively associated with said nuts so that asthe nuts are turned said bar is adjustably moved toward or away from thecor-.

responding plate, said bar having an outwardly extending boss and a slotextending into said boss and through an adjacent portion of the bar, andscrews in said bosses disposed to have clamping engagement with askeletal wire positioned in the slots of said bosses.

2. A surgical appliance for holding a skeletal wire in tension whilepositioned in an injured limb that is encased in a cast, said applianceconsisting of two fixtures one of which has a plate slotted for thereception of said wire and provided with a clamping means for said wire,the other of said fixtures having a slotted plate for the reception ofsaid wire, a tension applying member operably associated with thelast-mentioned plate provided with a clamping means engageable with saidWire, and means connecting said member and the last-mentioned plateconstituted so as to axially adjust said member to the last-mentionedplate and to prevent relative rotary movement thereof.

EARL E. LONGFELLOW.

